A teenager who robbed a man at knife-point "in broad daylight" accused his victim of being a paedophile before leading police on a high-speed car chase.
Driving the victim's stolen Ford Mustang, the young person narrowly avoided collisions, swerved the car onto the wrong side of the road several times and mounted a footpath to evade capture.
The 18-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reason, faced the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday on seven charges, including aggravated robbery, driving a motor vehicle without consent and two counts of aggravated dangerous driving.
Leaving the sentencing but not yet aware of his custodial fate, the teenager was heard saying, "f---ing dogs", visibly angry about the possibility of an extended license disqualification.
Agreed facts state about 8am on August 15, 2022, the offender, who was 17 at the time, approached a man seated in his car outside the Calwell Shopping Centre in Calwell.
The teenager suddenly opened the car door and pulled out a knife from his pocket, asking the victim to hand over his car keys, wallet and mobile phone, "or he was going to be stabbed".
The offender, still pointing the knife, became more aggressive when the man refused.
The teenager then claimed the victim was a paedophile who was in Calwell to meet the offender's 13-year-old sister.
"[The victim] became overwhelmed with fear and began thinking he was going to die," court documents state.
After a short scuffle, the young person punched the man in the head two to three times before pushing him into the car, taking the keys and driving away.
After the incident was reported, police spotted the teenager about 3pm on the same day driving the stolen car.
Seeing officers setting up a tyre deflation device, the teenager "accelerated sharply" and pulled onto the wrong side of the road, passing cars and narrowly avoiding a head-on collision.
He was observed driving on the wrong side of the road twice more and avoiding two more tyre deflation devices during the chase.
Before being finally captured on foot, the teenager mounted a pedestrian footpath at high speed and drove along a playground area in Richardson.
The teenager, who had never held a license, pleaded guilty to all charges in the ACT Children's Court in February after an initial plea of not guilty.
Prosecutor Claire Daly described the weekday morning offending as an "act of violence and dishonesty".
Defence barrister Stephen Robinson said the young person's prospects were good if he could avoid drug use.
"Rehabilitation should be the paramount sentencing consideration," he said.
The court heard the teenager grew up with considerable social disadvantages and had a drug relapse either on the day of the offending or the day prior.
Justice Verity McWilliam said this was a "significant factor".
"He has been given a terrible start in life," the judge said.
"His parents have let him down."
Justice McWilliam described the teenager as a "young person in crisis" who needed support.
"The young man needs every single tool the justice system can pull out of a hat to stop him from spiralling into a life of crime," she said.
The offender is set to return to court on Friday for a sentence hand-down.
